Circles program in danger of disappearing

Ashley Swett is a participant of the Circles Program, a community program that helps people establish self-sufficiency. She works at the Education and Life Training Center in Fort Collins.(Photo: Erin Hooley/The Coloradoan)

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A poverty program that helps Fort Collins residents gain self-sufficiency is at risk of closing in September.

Fort Collins' nonprofit community rallied around the Circles Larimer County program and its counterpart, Bridges out of Poverty, when they were launched as early pilot programs in 2011. Education and Life Training Center took the reins of the program, which has been funded by Bohemian Foundation.

It was expected to launch on its own with new community partners when three-year pilot funding from Bohemian ends. There's just one problem — no organization is willing to take it on when the money runs out.

Tracy Mead, ELTC executive director, said ELTC made the decision in May to step away from its leadership of the program and focus on the nonprofit's primary mission of employment success skills training in hopes that other nonprofits would join together to share the program.

But other Fort Collins nonprofits "lack the capacity," she said.

"The nonprofit agencies we've approached in Fort Collins have a lot on their plates already," Mead said. "I understand."

Scott Miller started the nonprofit Circles USA to encourage communities to bring residents to 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and move beyond the economic gap between qualifying for federal assistance and becoming self-sufficient. Fort Collins is one of more than 80 Circles communities nationwide and was an early pilot for the program.

The program matches Circles leaders living in poverty with allies of other socioeconomic backgrounds, has enrolled 37 participants since its inception and matched 24 to allies.

When billionaire philanthropist Pat Stryker announced the pilot programs in November 2011, she called a news conference that featured 10 speakers, including City Manager Darin Atteberry and Colorado State University President Tony Frank. In Fort Collins, the initiative generated multiple community trainings — including a national Circles conference this year — and discussions on poverty, and received much verbal support from the Fort Collins community.

"It will change everything if it gets the chance to be here long enough," Miller said. "We're spending gazillions of dollars on stuff that doesn't work while people get stuck in poverty waiting for a magic bullet."

Ashley Swett, 28, works two jobs and is the primary breadwinner for her family. In the Circles program, she has been working toward a future where she's educated and can work one solid job so her family no longer needs TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. She will graduate from the Circles program in September.

But there are more like her who are just beginning the program.

Swett's worried about the next cycle of participants who have started sitting in on Circles meetings to get a feel for the program. They don't know if the program will be available come September when the next class is supposed to start.

"(Closing) will make it more difficult for participants to feel a sense of belonging and encouragement," she said. "Circles is a program, but it's also a family."

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To prevent this struggle from happening in other Circles communities, Miller said he now requires any pilot communities to show diverse funding, backup funding and a demonstrated long-term plan before launching. He said when Fort Collins' pilot program was new, the idea was untested and criteria were not in place.

"The purpose of the pilot here was to show what it would take to get people out of poverty," Miller said. "ELTC did really well given the evolution of Circles at that point, but we've gotten so much more sophisticated."

Miller hopes multiple organizations or funders "step up" and see the value in the program.

Mead said the program needs around $220,000 a year to be fully operational in Fort Collins, though implementing the program into a nonprofit's existing programming could reduce that cost. The program needs, at minimum, a coach and volunteer coordinator to support multiple sites and up to 60 Circles leaders.

The program has only been available in Fort Collins due to pilot funding restrictions, as Bohemian Foundation focuses on improving life in the city. Mead said there could be hope for the program — and more willing partner agencies — in Loveland, which has requested Circles implementation.

Mead has contacted several agencies in Loveland to see if they'd be interested.

The program's potential could have ripple effects for local residents trying to break out of cyclical poverty, Mead said.

Swett, for example, doesn't qualify for other mentoring programs for poverty. She's married, and that makes her ineligible for Project Self-Sufficiency, one of Larimer County's other poverty programs, which works with single parents.

"Generational poverty is a challenging animal," she said. "New behaviors, ideas and opportunities take time to create, cultivate and learn. We are asking our folks to do something that none of us like to do — we are asking them to change."

Michelle Johnson, one of Swett's allies, said she'll continue that relationship regardless of Circles' future. She's worried about the men and women who won't get a chance to experience the program.

The experience is personal for Johnson, who grew up in poverty.

"Why are we struggling with this in Fort Collins?" she asked. "Why is it even a question? Why aren't people lining up to do this?"

Sarah Jane Kyle is the Coloradoan reporter covering volunteerism, nonprofits and philanthropy. Follow her on Twitter @sarahjanekyle or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/reportersarahjane.

Help

If you're willing to help fund the Circles program, contact Tracy Mead via email, tracy.mead@ELTCenter.org, or by phone at (970) 482-4357.

What is Circles?

Circles uses social capital to support those moving out of generational poverty. Circle leaders, or those living in poverty, are paired with allies from other socioeconomic classes for support and problem-solving.

When did it begin?

Circles began as a three-year pilot program in 2011 with 15 participants. The program now has 37 enrolled participants, 24 of whom have been matched with allies.

Why is it going away?

Pilot funding, provided by Bohemian Foundation, runs out in September. Education & Life Training Center, which led the program through its pilot, has stepped down from a leadership role of the program and needs community partners to support the program. So far, no other agency has stepped up.

Where can this program exist?

Partners are being sought in Loveland and Fort Collins. Because of pilot funding restrictions, the pilot existed only in Fort Collins.